


Puzzdra Fictober

by TheAzureFox



Category: puzzdra anime, puzzle & dragons anime
Genre: Gen, can't guarantee this will be happy go lucky, for Fictober, i'm well aware how much darker my writing is compared to the show, i??? love this show???, not that anyone cares but lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-24 22:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16184372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAzureFox/pseuds/TheAzureFox
Summary: 2.) The Four Gods discuss Shin's blunder.





	1. Try Harder Next Time

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't watched the latest episode yet (I've seen spoiler pics tho!!) since it comes out later tonight but g o d can I just say that Shin is completely living up to my expectations? The salt and pepper boi seems really conniving, serious and yet with a mysterious power under his sleeves and I??? Am so excite for the episode???
> 
> Let me see Taiga suffer please. Let me see Shin's eyes glow pink-purple please. I love you Puzzdra 
> 
> {now just show Collidelle and all will be good :')}
> 
> Prompt is: "Try harder, next time". And, yes, I'm doing these out of order.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

Matsuhara had warned him. Had told him that Shin Kanzuki - Child of God - was no ordinary Pro-Gamer.

Taiga hadn’t heeded that warning.

Cloaked under the shadows of mystery, the boy with the black and white hair had risen like a ghost from the grave. Taiga had attempted to make him one of his victims, to steal the golden coin sparkling off Shin’s sapphire armband in an attempt to beat the time limit. But, the victim had become _him_ instead, his life points whittled away until it was obvious he was nothing more than Shin’s play-toy.

But, the finale hadn’t come yet.

No, it’d come when Shin sneered down upon him, pen in hands as he’d declared an already absurd sentence: “It’s time for me to get serious.”

Red eyes had turned to purple, the darkness of his features now illuminated in a bright glow circled by lavender. And, within an instance, Taiga felt a horrible miasma washing over him, cloaking him in pain so sharp he’d fallen to his knees the instant he’d tasted only a millisecond of its power.

“Pathetic,” Shin’s dark words echoed of a sentiment that had Taiga furious. “Try harder next time if you want to beat me.”

Striding forward, the boy bent down, plucking one of Taiga’s golden coins from its socket and placing it into one of his own. The light from his eyes had disappeared, now-red eyes cold and distant as he’d walked away and melded into the crowd.

How horrible. How _evil_. Taiga was left on the ground, his muscles weak from the blow of such strange, psychotic energy.

Already, at his side, was Ryuji and Matsuhara, both boys looking over him. Matsuhara was speaking firmly, instructing his younger brother with words that rang foreign in Taiga’s ears.

It hurt. Even though the pain had faded, even as Shin had disappeared (and, with him, his strange powers), it still hurt. Such agony, such _misery._ It was terrifying to feel that small, that weak, that _helpless._

Crawling maggots of doubt carved their way into his ideals of ambition and adventure. Though it was small - nothing more than a seed sown from despair - there was a moment of faltering, a moment of “what if”, of “what now”, of…“How.”

“Magic,” Matsuhara says, in that light voice of his that’s almost never serious. Ryuji opens his mouth to say something - perhaps to tell his brother off in a fit of frustration - but then Matsuhara continues in a dark voice and he falls silent. “Kanzaki Shin is not to be messed with. But, now that you’ve crossed paths with him, it is unavoidable you’ll meet him again.”

Such words weigh heavily on Taiga’s heart. He bites his lip, struggles to his feet (and falls embarrassingly into Matsuhara’s arms), before looking out into the crowd of people who still remain. Two coins glisten from the band around his arm and, struggling with the dread pulling him back, he gives a faltering smile to the two brothers and takes his first step.

“I’ll be fine,” he says.

He feels anything but.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be fooled by the way I write him: I absolutely love the shit out of Shin. He's probably my second (or third, after Matsuhara, anyways) favorite character in the show and I'm totally excited to hear his voice for the first time in the show today)
> 
> I'm not sure if Shin will be completely "evil" or if he'll be somewhat of a middle between evil and "does whatever the hell he wants" but I do hope he becomes the antagonist to the show. I know he's one of the Four Children of God (at least in the manga, anyways) so there's a chance the other three will be "evil" alongside him (nooo Collidelle nooo) but I think I need to watch today's episode before I can judge him as "evil" or "antagonist who gets in Taiga's way but maaay have his own reasons for doing so??"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four Children of God discuss Shin's blunder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “You should have seen it.”
> 
> I promise I'm trying to catch up :')

A room, darkly-lit. Inside it, four figures cloaked in shadows. Four couches for each of them lie in a square around a glass table, several drinks illuminated with the light from the outside world.

A meeting such as this is not uncommon. Though frequently separated by international borders, the Four Children of God know each other well. They’d talked under many circumstances, many times, over many things. Pro-Gamer politics, strategies, the use of their powers, and, of course, the adventures of goody two-shoes champions and their subjects of interest.

“You should have seen it,” their youngest member, Kanzaki Shin, says with a sneer, “the way Matsuhara stooped to helping that boy.”

“Akashi Taiga, was it?” A boy with long blond hair - Collidelle - takes a sip from his drink.

“Mm, yes,” Shin waves a dismissive hand. “An unremarkable boy, really. I can’t see why Matsuhara would’ve bothered to save him. He fell prey to me as easily as a worm.”

“In other words, you broke his spirit,” the third, Lee, says with a note of disgust.

“What’s wrong with doing that?” Shin’s eyes glow purple. “It’s fun.”

“ _Fun_ is slicing them open on an operations table to see all their insides,” their last member, Viper, says with a gleam in his eyes that is almost maniacal. “ _Fun_ isn’t playing brain games.”

“Our powers are not to be abused,” Collidelle says, his eyes glowing with the same shade of purple that illuminates Shin’s eyes. “If you continue to break your privilege, I’ll be forced to reprimand you.”

“Come fight me then, _Prince_.”

Quick as lightning, a rapier is pulled from a sheath and pointed straight at Shin’s neck. The boy lifts his chin up, the blade burning cold on his skin as his gaze darkens. Across from him, holding the weapon, Collidelle’s eyes are wide and serious, bright purple fire flaring in place of the usual black pupil.

“I kindly suggest that you _hold your tongue_ when you’re in my presence,” the boy’s voice is low and grating, words almost hissing as blue returns to Collidelle’s eyes.

Shin leans back against the couch, head turned to the side with a “tch!”. Collidelle retracts his rapier in the process, promoting it back to its sheath as he continues.

“I’ll have you know I want to see things play out fairly. We’ve yet to be given orders on who our enemy is. And, until we do, I think it best that we tread cautiously. Giving away our powers so soon can put us at a disadvantage.”

“Killjoy,” Shin mutters.

Lee shakes his head. “I agree with Collidelle. Shin, you’ve already put us at a disadvantage during the Japanese Tournament Cup with a show of your powers. And, it’s now inevitable that someone has marked you as a Child of God. Therefore, your association to us is now a liability.”

The boy’s eyes widen, his lips parting slightly as if the mere saying of such words has brought a weight down upon him. “So, what are you saying?”

“Your interaction with us needs to be limited,” Collidelle responds in turn. “Since you already blew your cover, we don’t want you blowing ours, either.”

“ _What_.” Shin’s eyes go wide, purple illuminating them as he sends a psychic message. _You can’t do this. I won’t let you._

 _I can and will_ , Collidelle closes his eyes. _Consider this your punishment_.

The blonde boy stands up, inciting Lee and Viper to do the same. Lee follows without hesitation; Viper, with a grudging frown and a glance at Shin. The black-and-white-haired boy spins around to face Collidelle, anger and fear swirling in red eyes.

“Don’t leave me,” he snarls, fingers digging into the fabric of the couch. “Don’t you dare-!”

But a door closes and Shin is left alone. The boy curls his lips, eyes flaring purple before he realizes it’s no use and turns to look at the necklace trapped around his neck.

“Punishment, huh.” He spits. “That Collidelle..how fucking _clever_ of him.”

He wraps a hand around the item attached to the necklace, the symbol of everything Shin is trapped in, and doesn’t even wince as it punctures his skin.

Blood, thick as water, seeps down his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh, this piece makes a lot of assumptions I can't say are representative of the actual characters. 
> 
> For one, I'm acting under the assumption that all Four Gods have glowy eye powers just like Shin does. 
> 
> For another, I'm assuming that Collidelle acts like the "leader" of the four when, in reality, he's probably only associated to them by title. 
> 
> A third is that I'm presuming all the gods know each other and act like "friends" despite being separated by international borders. The anime sure implies so far that Shin doesn't know the others (but, only Shin has shown up too so it's kind of unfair to declare that) and I can't say what happens in the manga since I won't be able to get my hands on the issues he appears until about a week or so from now :')


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Collidelle in a darker version of the anime
> 
> (A character study that isn't quite a character study. Think of it as how I would write Collidelle if I was A. allowed to write about him and B. could reinterpret his character in a darker light than what the anime will probably shoot for).

Being a Child of God is, by no means, a wishy-washy circumstance that designates its beholder the status of a deity. No, rather, it tells of only one thing: the impressive prowess and skills one holds capable of matching a champion. Collidelle takes no pride in knowing he’s one of the four people gifted this title. As someone who wishes only to succeed in battle, he finds the title a mockery. “Child of God”. Such an _idiotic_ name. It is immature in its assumptions, ripe with the burden of incredulous disbelief.

Collidelle is no Child of God. Despite the banner dragged behind him like a sore reminder, name drawn in flesh despite his intent to claw it into nothing but a bloody wound, he is not the offspring of a deity faithless and arrogant. Such impudent accusations would have his blade pulled from its socket, cold metal searing skin without an inch of hesitation.

But, worse, is to be lumped with utter cretins who soil the name “Pro-Gamer” with acts of malice and pungent deceit. Collidelle won’t lie: he does not approve of those who share his supposed throne. They are full of nothing more than callous fame and whimsical, flighty desires, pompous in their haste to become Champion. Collidelle can see little worth in their existence, can feel nothing other than irritation as they rear their heads and do nothing more than make fools of themselves.

Shin and Viper, two of the players who share the title of Child of God, are nothing more than a stain Collidelle is unable to blot out. He’s observed the two from a distance, hand always readied upon his blade for a chance to cut them down. Such foolishness is beyond him, though. Defeat only comes on a battlefield created by phones and monsters: it does not come from cheap tricks used only by the weakest of players.

So, with the tendency of a snake coiled up in waiting, Collidelle bides his time. He waits and waits and _waits_ , an endless waiter who awaits his prey with only that of cold cunning and patient prowess. Even from across the international border, barred from entry by the ladder which leads to the Championship Cup, he lies in wait.

And, as the gates are opened and he, alongside the others who succeeded with him, push into the stadium with only the anticipation of a challenge, he knows his moment has come. Phone placed into his hand, rapier at his side ready to be drawn, he enters the Championship Cup with only the expectation of victory at his side. 

It is there he stumbles upon Akashi Taiga. A boy with red hair and a fiery spirit that irritates Collidelle to no end runs about with the endless desire to pursue a battle. Collidelle knows little of him besides the fact that he was once Kanzaki Shin’s opponent in the Japanese Tournament Cup but he knows enough. A weak-willed boy, that one was, a fool so easily played by Shin’s cunning deceit. He’d seen the way Taiga had been manipulated into a broken spirit. It had been too easy, far too easy, and, for that, Collidelle couldn’t honestly be any more disgusted than he already was.

The announcer makes a show of identifying him alongside the other four Children of God and Collidelle has to suppress the way he wants to draw his blade to stave off the attention. The spotlight lingers on him, basking him in luminance, before it switches to its next person of interest and Collidelle is left staring coldly at all those who wish to talk to him.

Above him, leaning against the railing of the seats in the balcony, is Shin. The boy merely stares down into the crowd, quiet without a word as the spotlight comes to a halt on his person. When the announcer says his name, he nods, not offering anything more than a casual blink of the eyes as the spotlight moves on. Collidelle’s gaze lingers on him, however, and he narrows his eyes at the way Shin’s face has morphed into maniacal delight, a sneer curling onto his lips.

Next is Lee who is leaning against the curved wall of the stadium. One of the Children of God, Collidelle could honestly say that, out of all the others, Lee was the only one worthy of even an inch of his respect. A champion martial artist who hailed from China, Lee was well-known for his fighting skills both inside and out of battle. He takes the spotlight with a bow and a wave, a polite smile fashioned upon his face as he greets a crowd wide-eyed and starstruck. Collidelle senses no malice from him and, perhaps, would’ve thought him a genuine throne-bearer had he not caught the way Lee’s smile sharpened into something full of edges and blades moments later.

There’s a brief pause from the announcer and then, moving the spotlight onto the last person of interest, he continues. Viper stands as the final Child of God, basking in the attention given to him with a smile peppered with crazed delight. The boy pulls out a scalpel from the pockets of his jackets, letting it glint in the light of the spotlight. Then, he makes some atrocious comment about cutting people open and the stadium quickly descends into an unsettling sense of fear. The announcer stutters and, with much hurry, continues on.

On the stage that welcomes them all comes the champion. Ryuichi Matsuhara strides forward, left hand in his pocket while his right hand holds the microphone that welcomes his words.

“Welcome,” he says. It’s as if he’s speaking to a room of friends, his sickly-sweet voice tempting Collidelle to throw his rapier just for the sound of something sour. “To the Championship Cup. You’ve made it far to get here today and I commend you for you effort. Each one of you has has come from a different place and even a different country, for some. Regardless, I want to ask you all to come together. Here, we’re all players of the same game. And, now, it’s time for all you who’ve proven yourselves to prove yourself once again. For all those who wish to ascend to the title of Champion, work hard. Taking the throne won’t be easy and you should all know I won’t give it up so easily.”

Collidelle’s half-tempted to roll his eyes, to make some sort of comment about the foolishness of gracing those around him with such hope, but he holds his tongue. Rather, he notes the way Matsuhara’s gaze wanders into the crowd, the champion locking eyes with two boys standing at the front. Akashi Taiga, is one. The other, though Collidelle lacks his name in his repertoire of knowledge, must be Matsuhara’s brother. Collidelle recognizes the same shade of blue in his hair as well as the same care-free attitude that aggravates Collidelle like nothing else.

“Any questions?” Matsuhara asks after his gaze has wandered past. “Then I will bid you all good luck in the upcoming matches. Do well to earn my crown!”

A silence unfolds upon the crowd and, granted a moment of bliss, Matsuhara nods his head and disappears off stage. A murmur sounds, welling up from the crowd like a geyser. Already, people have begun flocking into little groups, chattering away as if the only thing left to do is to discuss the weather.

Collidelle departs from the crowd, pushing past contestants he recognizes from the French Tournament Cup in order to ascend the stairs that lead to where the audience will be seated.

Already, he recognizes that quite a few players have done the same with a sparse number of people wandering the balcony seats with little more than boredom on their faces. Some, the more cunning ones, leaned against the railing with eyes of conniving weasels, gazes searching for only the weakest of competition. Others only bothered with playing on their phones, taking a seat in one of the thousands of chairs instead of taking the chance to pick out the prey they’d soon target.

Collidelle, however, merely finds his place at the top to escape the miasma of false hope that permeates the ground below. A hand on his blade, he knows better than to be caught up in the whirlwind fancies of ambitious players looking for fame.

“Hey.”

Collidelle slides his gaze to his left. Kanzaki Shin strides towards him like a ghost, a smile fashioned like that of a devil’s plastered onto his face. The blonde boy is on instant alert, hand touching the handle of his rapier. Shin’s eyes flash purple and, against his will, Collidelle finds himself relaxing.

“I’m not here to cause any trouble,” Shin says with a scoff. He digs his hands into his pockets, sneers, and then approaches with Collidelle’s body bound to his powers. “We _are_ family, after all.”

“Nonsense,” Collidelle snarls.

“Well, okay, maybe we’re not related by _blood_ ,” Shin’s eyes glow yet again, his presence pushing into Collidelle’s mind without consent. _But you forget we are by name_.

“Mind games are for the weak,” he snaps. “Your powers are nothing more than a sham.”

“Perhaps,” Shin’s eyes lose their violet luster, calculating red reappearing in its place. “But, regardless, I wanted to talk. Negotiate. Bargain. Or, if you’d like, gamble.”

“Over what?” Collidelle reaches for his rapier and, yet again, Shin’s eyes glow. His own body refuses his commands, the tips of his fingers brushing polished metal and yet unable to clench a hold of it.

Fucking bastard.

Shin leans against the railing of the stadium seating, his gaze never leaving Collidelle’s own. A sickening grin overcomes the other boy’s face, intoxication written in the way he puts his hands into his pockets and laughs without prompt. If it were up to Collidelle, his rapier would’ve already been pulled from its sheath, blood spilled without an ounce of hesitation. However, under Shin’s command he’s left pathetically weak, his weapon within an inch of his control and yet so helplessly out of reach.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Shin tilts his head, “but how about breaking the competition?”

“As if I’d help you with that.”

“Oh?” Shin’s voice turns uncomfortably childish, low voice turning high-pitched within a moment’s instance. “You won’t? Are you sure? I’m more than willing to break you if I must. I’m only offering the decency of it being your own choice right now. Refuse and I think you know what happens.”

He curls his lips. “Coward.”

The boy with the black and white hair shrugs. “Call me what you want. I’m just doing this in my best interest. I can’t have anyone interfering. Not yet, anyways. Besides, you might just get what you want if you obey me. I promise I’ll pay you well for your obedience.”

Shin blinks. It’s nothing but a millisecond of time but Collidelle takes it. His hand wraps around the hilt of his rapier, pulls it out of its socket and whips it straight towards-

Shin’s gaze meets him in the last moment before Collidelle can make a blow and the rapier falls to the floor, clattering with an ill-sounding noise. A thin slice of blood dripples down Shin’s cheek, staining pale skin. Shin, however, seems unconcerned about his plight. The unnerving grin intoxicated with power is still there, still present.

It disturbs Collidelle greatly.

“Obey.”

Suddenly, he’s forced to his knees. Shin’s eyes widen, violet searing into Collidelle’s skull until all he feels is pain and terror. He tries to claw his way out of the miasma of power, to pull free from its slithering arms wrapped around his mind, but he finds himself quickly at a loss.

It hurts. It hurts. _Ithurtsithurtsithurts_. A thousand needles dig into him. A thousand needles find every inch of his skin and poke and prod and shred.

_Irthurtsithurtsithurts._

His own mind betrays him, falling whim to Shin’s mind tricks. The pain tears into him, razor sharp claws peeling away at his skin layer by layer.

 _Irthurtsithurtsithurts_.

Searing water scalding and burning splashes onto him. Everything becomes unbearably hot, blisters boiling and skin agitated by the heat of the burning sun.

_Ithurtsithurtsit-_

“Perish this requiem.”

Shin’s eyes blink and, all at once does calamity end. Collidelle collapses to the floor, shuddering tremendously. Shin crouches down next to him, the glow gone from his eyes as he reaches over and carelessly grabs a strand of Collidelle’s hair.

“Too bad you can’t make this much easier for me,” eyes turn purple, blazing cold as Collidelle’s gaze gets pulled in. “Oh well. I tried.”

Collidelle’s mind breaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively: All the four Children of God are fucked up in some way with Collidelle having a superiority complex w/ a side of violence, Shin being pretty much a psychopath with powers, Viper probably on the brink of wanting to cut people open for fun, and Lee being Very Scary because he can. 
> 
> I could’ve made this much, much darker in the encounter with Collidelle and Shin but I have my limits on how dark I wanted to make things be. Namely, I had the idea of making Collidelle’s reaction to Shin’s powers horrifically more stronger but, nah, as much as I love torturing my faves I’m not willing to go that far.
> 
> Theories posited here: all four Children of God are fucked up in some way (ty Shin for being case no. 1 for evidence of this theory), Collidelle + the others are famous but don’t really know the others closely, Collidelle dislikes the other three, Shin’s the only one with magic powers, Everything Gets Darker, Taiga + Ryuji + Matsuhara (the good beans of the cast + the others) are mocked by the Children of God for being the happy-go-lucky way that they are.


End file.
